No. 13 Texas Volleyball vs. No. 6 Creighton
Texas: 20-6 | Creighton: 31-2
Friday, December 13th – 12pm CT
Recreation hall | State College, Pennsylvania.

NCAA regional schedule
December 13th – 12pm CT – #13 Texas vs. #6 Creighton
December 13th – 2:30pm CT – #2 Penn State vs. Marquette
December 15th – 7:30pm CT – TBD

THE MATCHUPS
Texas and Creighton will meet for the second time ever and the first time since 2016. The only other game between the Longhorns and Bluejays also occurred in the postseason, at the 2016 NCAA Austin Regional Final at Gregory Gymnasium. Texas defeated Creighton in that match and reached the NCAA Final Four.

NCAA TOURNAMENT TALK
Texas is making its 19th consecutive appearance in the NCAA regional semifinals (“Sweet 16”), the longest active streak in the country. This is the program’s 41st appearance in the NCAA Tournament and the Longhorns have a record of 118-36 in the NCAA Tournament. In 35 previous regional semifinal appearances, Texas has reached 28 NCAA regional finals, 15 NCAA semifinals and 10 national championship games. The Longhorns have won a total of five national championships in program history. UT won the AIAW National Championship in 1981 and also won the NCAA Championships in 1988, 2012, 2022 and 2023.

ALL-SEC LONGHORNS

Madisen Skinner And Marianna Singletary were both named to the All-SEC First Team to lead a group of four Longhorns who earned All-SEC team honors in their first season in the league. Next to Skinner and Singletary Reagan Rutherford was named to the All-SEC Second Team and Ayden Ames was named to the All-Freshman team.

Tough schedule
The SEC has proven that it is one of the elite conferences in NCAA volleyball. Five teams made it to the NCAA Regionals, tied with the Big Ten in most conferences. The Longhorns faced a difficult road during the regular season, playing a total of 16 games against teams that made it to the NCAA Tournament, including nine SEC programs. The SEC joined the ACC and Big Ten to lead all conferences, with nine teams selected for the postseason tournament.

CONTINUOUS SUCCESS
Texas has been a model of consistency for well over a decade and is the only Division I volleyball program to finish in the top 10 in each of the last 18 seasons. The Longhorns also finished in the top five in 15 of the last 18 seasons, including 11 consecutive years from 2008 to 2018. Texas also has the nation’s longest active streak of NCAA Regional Semifinals (“Sweet 16”) with 19 consecutive appearances. Of the last 19 regional semifinal appearances, the Longhorns have reached 18 NCAA regional finals, 12 national semifinals and eight national championship games.

VICTORY STREAMS
Texas played extremely well for much of the season, winning nine straight games, including the first seven SEC games. During this winning streak, Texas hit .300 and averaged 14.13 kills per set, 13.07 assists per set and 2.82 blocks per set. The Longhorns then had a difficult stretch with three straight losses in five sets. After this difficult stretch, Texas has now won its last eight games in a row with a batting average of .349 in those games. During the current winning streak Madisen Skinner was incredible with 6.05 kills per set and a .422 hitting percentage.

The SEC era is underway
Texas Volleyball began a new era in the SEC, narrowly failing to win the conference title in the program’s first season. With 29 all-time championships, including 16 Big 12 titles and 13 Southwest Conference Championships, the Longhorns have a long history of conference dominance. The Longhorns’ 2023 championship was their seventh consecutive Big 12 championship, winning or sharing 12 of the last 13 championships and 15 of the previous 17. Texas left the Big 12 Conference having won more championships than any other program.

PARTICIPATION
The Longhorns extended their sellout streak to 42 straight games dating back to the 2022 season and are ranked sixth nationally this season with an average attendance of 4,393 through 14 games. Texas ranked fifth last season with an average attendance of 4,495 in 16 home games. The Longhorns sold out all 16 home games in 2023 and ended the 2022 season with 12 straight sellout games at Gregory Gym. In the 2022 NCAA Regional Final against Ohio State, Texas set an attendance record at Gregory Gym with 5,344 spectators.

SINGLETARY’S DOMINANT TRACK
Middle blocker Marianna Singletary put together a dominant series of games in October and was named SEC Defensive Player of the Week three weeks in a row. Singletary was also named the league’s Player of the Week in two of those three weeks. She has a total of 134 blocks this season and ranks 13th nationally with 1.44 blocks per set. She also has 178 kills and a .357 hitting percentage for the season.

SENIOR SKINNER

Madisen Skinner Solidified herself as one of the best players in the country last season and is one of the top returning players in 2024. With over 1,800 career kills, Skinner ranks 12th in career kills among active players in Division I. She is a three-time national champion and Skinner, the 2023 VolleyballMag.com National Player of the Year, is in her final season of collegiate volleyball in 2024. Last season, Skinner ranked sixth nationally with 4.80 kills per set and seventh with 547 total kills. Her 547 kills were the third most ever by a Longhorn player and the most since Mira Topic (593) in 2004. Skinner elevated her game in the postseason, averaging 5.43 kills per set and a .316 hitting percentage and was named to the NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player.

RANKING
Texas, picked to finish first in the SEC Coaches’ Poll, is one of four SEC teams in the top 25, while Kentucky is ranked No. 12, Florida is No. 18 and Missouri is No. 24. In non-conference play, Texas faced four nationally ranked teams – Wisconsin, Minnesota, Stanford and Baylor. Texas began the 2024 season as the top-ranked team in the AVCA Preseason Coaches’ Poll for the fifth time (2013, 2017, 2021, 2023, 2024). The Longhorns finished in the top four of the AVCA preseason poll for the 18th straight season and finished in the top two for the 11th time in the last 18 seasons.

RANK AND FILE
UT has a 159-61 (.723) record against ranked opponents over the last 21 seasons (2004-24) and has a home mark of 72-15 (.828) against ranked opponents at Gregory Gymnasium (69-15) and Frank Erwin Center (3-0) in that span. The Longhorns went 14-2 against ranked opponents last season.

STREET WARRIOR
The Longhorns have won 49 of their last 54 road games since the 2019 season. Since the 2011 season, Texas has compiled a record of 129-23 (.849) in true away games, with only seven of those losses coming to unranked teams.

MBU
Under head coach for more than two decades Jerritt ElliottThe Longhorns have a long tradition of All-American middle blockers, starting with Leticia Armstrong (2003-08) and Brandy Magee (2003-07) before continuing with Lauren Paolini (2005-08), Rachael Adams (2008-11). . Khat Bell (2011-14), Molly McCage (2012-15), Chiaka Ogbogu (2013-17), Brionne Butler (2017-21) and Asjia O’Neal (2019-23). These nine All-American middle blockers have earned a total of 25 All-America honors since 2005.

MBU CONTINUED…
After graduating All-American Asjia O’Nealare two young players ready to continue the legacy of great middle blockers at Texas. Ayden Ames is the Longhorns’ first true freshman middle blocker since Chiaka Ogbogu in 2013. Redshirt sophomore Marianna Singletary has a breakout season and was named SEC Defensive Player of the Week three times. The Longhorns ranked third nationally last season with 2.89 blocks per set, with double-digit blocks in 21 of 32 games last season.